Page 125 of My Big Fat Shifter Wedding

His address to the audience seemed to end, because suddenly his attention was solely on us. “Do you, Keith Insrym, stand before us today to wed this woman and join yourself to the Rizoli pack from your next breath to your very last?”

“I do,” I said with all the conviction that I could muster. When we first started really getting down to the brass tacks of our wedding, I thought shifters would have a lot of new and exciting traditions that I would have to learn, but other than some key points and phrases, a wolf wedding wasn’t much different from a human one. It kind of went to prove exactly the officiant’s point; our differences were far fewer than our similarities.

“And do you, Olivia Rizoli, stand before us today to wed this man and join him to your pack from his next breath to his very last?”

It was a small reminder of my own mortality, and even though it might wig some people out to know that they were going to die so much sooner than their spouse, I took it as a reminder to cherish every single minute. Every second. Because while I was getting off the ride that we called life before my love, it didn’t mean that we couldn’t squeeze every drop of happiness and joy we could out of it along the way.

“I do.”

“And I do believe that each of you has brought a token of your eternal commitment for the other?”

“We have,” we said simultaneously, and I had never felt so close to anyone else in my entire life.

Ginna gave the tiniest of whistles, though it was probably a lot more audible for all the shifters around. Oregano and Rosemary were on the move immediately, one in front of me and one in front of Olivia, standing on their hind legs so we could take our rings from the cushions on their backs.

“Now, as you exchange these tokens in front of your pack, family, and friends, state the vows that will entwine your souls and your fate from here on out.”

He looked to me, and though I’d known it would be my turn first from our rehearsal, it still surprised me. My mouth went dry, and for a fleeting moment, part of me wanted to kiss Olivia and be done with it. Even after all our time together, I still wasn’t comfortable in the limelight.

But the temptation was gone almost as soon as it existed. Yes, I was nervous, but I was so full of emotions that it felt like there was a very real threat of me popping like a balloon. I wanted everyone in the room to hear how much Olivia meant to me. Their daughter. Their cousin. Their sister. To them, Olivia was many things. But to me, she was everything.

“Olivia,” I started. “Two and a half years ago, if someone had told me that an angel was going to walk into my woodworking class, I would have told them that angels didn’t find guys like me. But I would have been wrong, because you walked in and changed the course of my life forever.”

I lifted her hand, placing the ring in front of her extended finger but not sliding it down yet. She’d had her nails done, because Amanda had insisted, and I allowed myself the tiniest moment to admire the golden moons and stars delicately painted into her manicure.

“I’ve never been very glib beyond nerdy references and snarky banter, so while I don’t have all the words to express exactly how much I love you and truly how much better you’ve made my life, I pray a lifetime of actions will show you everything my vocabulary is lacking.

“But even that full lifetime will not be enough to get my fill of your smile, your sense of humor, all those shower-thoughts that make me look at the world in a different way. Your kindness, your beauty, all of you. You are my better half, Olivia, and I love you.”

Finally, I slid the ring down her finger and beamed when it fit perfectly. I knew my bride had been worried about swelling up with the stress of the day, but it wasn’t an issue.

Judging by some of the sniffles I heard in the crowd, I’d done all right on my vows. More importantly, Olivia was smiling broadly at me through her veil despite the fact that her tears hadn’t stopped rolling. I thought about trying to make a joke to put a pause on things so she could have a moment before she started to speak, but it seemed my almost-wife was just as eager to get hitched as I was, because as soon as the officiant asked her, she began to speak the vows she had written.

Naturally, I’d been a bit curious about what she would say, especially since she was much more articulate than I was, but much like Christmas, I knew better than to spoil the day by pestering her about it or trying to get a sneak peek. So I was hearing the words from her heart for the first time, and goodness.

“My darling Keith, the love of my life, you have shown me truly what it means to live wholly and joyfully. For the first thirty years of my life, I was paying rent for my existence by being useful. I was so assured of my worthlessness that I thought I had to buy my way into being a loved member of my pack. While I wish I could go back and tell young Olivia how wrong she was, I wouldn’t change a single step of it, because you have shown me over and over and over just how loved I can be without any bribery or bargaining.

“From the first moment you walked into that woodworking class, I was smitten. The entire time I was waiting for you to come to my station for our one-on-one, I was sweating bullets. Granted, I sure didn’t mind watching you leave though.” There was a small titter from the crowd, and my ego surged. I’d never really given my own rear end or thighs a thought unless it was whether I was going to fit into a chair, but Olivia’s appreciation for them had opened my eyes to a lot of things about myself.

Just like I had, she lifted my hand, and positioned the ring, a thick, solid obsidian band with a razor-sharp line of platinum through it and on the inside. It suited my aesthetic quite fine, even if it was quite different from Olivia’s.

Hers was a thin, platinum band with three clusters of gems arranged to resemble the same shape of the Italian national flower, the white lily. Except the gems weren’t all diamonds. No, they were the birthstones of all her siblings on the left cluster, her parents, my mother, her nonnas and Amanda’s on the right cluster, and finally, in the center, our own birth stones.

“Then you opened your mouth and I was done for. Not just because you have an amazing voice, but there was such kindness in it. And you were hilarious—still are, of course! Little did you know that with a little help from the best wing-woman in the world, we went to the mall and racked up the biggest credit card bill I’d ever generated in my life to give me a makeover so I could be confident enough to ask you out.

“And then you beat me to the punch.

“I didn’t know it was possible for a near-perfect stranger to be on the same page as I was, but we were, and we have been ever since. Even when I was hiding such a big part of myself from you, I still felt so entirely seen. And while I still think you let me off the hook far too easily, I will spend the rest of my days being so very happy that you did.

“I love you, Keith, and I promise to protect you and never lie to you again. I promise to stay by your side, even as wrinkles set in and gray appears in your beard, as your glasses prescription arrives and grows thicker and thicker. I’m with you until the end of the road, and I absolutely cannot wait to see where our path leads as long as it’s together.

“You are unequivocally my pack now, through and through.”

Fuck, I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her so badly. It was like love was bursting out of all the seams of my body, and if I didn’t express it somehow, I might actually combust.

Luckily, we were almost there.

“Our couple has shared their vows and their promises of eternity. They have exchanged their tokens of these vows, forged in fire and adorned with gems to wear on their persons.”